Even a Keyblade Master
by Riku Watashi
Summary: Even a keyblade master can have problems. Even a keyblade master can be sick.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

Chapter One

Riku sat on the beach with Sora and Kairi. The sky was a bright blue, and the day was a fairly nice one so far. All of a sudden, a strange dizziness overtook him and he found himself quite suddenly falling off of the little piece of island they stood on. "Riku!" "Oh my gosh, Riku!" "Sora-!" he choked out but plunged under deep, cold, dark water. He couldn't breathe and was struggling frantically to get out. The darkness started to swallow him up and he screamed and gasped.

"Sora!" Riku screamed, jerking upright in bed. Sweat poured down his face, matting his now short hair to his head. "It was... a dream...?" he muttered after panting for a bit. That same dream had kept happening for a while now, causing him to have doubted his worthiness in the first place. "Ughn.." he groaned, clutching his head, a pounding headache returning again. He glanced up at the clock. 10:00. Everyone had been asleep for an hour now, except himself, who had been so exhausted the previous day that he had practically passed out at 3:30 pm. He suddenly remembered the dreaded happenings of tomorrow. They, himself and the king, were going to go rescue Master Aqua. He had had a feeling, though, that something wouldn't be right. Something definitely felt off about this. And on top of that, he still felt guilty about it being his fault that Aqua was trapped there. His headache started up again and he groaned. "I need to go get some Tylenol..." This same headache had been bugging him for 2 days now, and it was steadily getting worse. He stood to go find some. _Why did I trap her there? She would be just fine right now if I hadn't gone and messed with darkness in the first place. Or at least I could have taken her place and set her free. Its all my fault..._ These thoughts made his stomach suddenly lurch and he dropped to the floor next to the trash can and started vomiting violently. He needed his headache to go away, but standing up and increasing the risk of vomiting again wasn't worth it. He lay his head back against the side of his bed, tears starting to flow slowly from his eyes.

Mickey walked down the hallway quietly. He had heard someone scream and was checking to make sure everyone was alright. As he walked past Riku's doorway, he heard soft noises and noticed that a light was on. "H..Hello?" Mickey said. There was no response, and, for the sake of everyone's safety, he stepped inside. The bed sheets were turned down and Riku wasn't in the bed. "Riku?" Mickey said. He walked around and saw Riku laying curled up against the far side of the bed. The trash can was full of vomit and Riku was shaking and crying. "Riku? Hey, are you alright?" Riku didn't respond, and then the king realized that he was crying in his sleep and sighed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

Riku woke up with a throbbing headache. "Where am...?" He realized he was laying up against his bed, and the incident of last night came back to him. But there were two differences from how it was before: the trash can had been emptied, and a blanket had been wrapped around him. Someone had clearly been there. He got up unsteadily and went to the bathroom to wash his face and change his clothes. " _How dare you leave me here to save yourself!" 'No...I cant be worthy... I know I just took the exam but... it still doesn't feel right... "How could you?!" ... "You don't deserve it!" That's right.. I dont..'_

Riku went to the kitchen to eat something. His head ached so, so badly and it made him want to scream it was so bad, but he kept quiet. Lea, Sora, Kairi, and Mickey were all currently in there. He grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and dumped some crappy breakfast cereal in it. He dropped it off at his place and grabbed a spoon. He took a moment, then brought the spoon up to his mouth, starting to eat. _"You aren't worth it!"_ A sudden wave of nausea washed over him and he dropped the spoon loudly back into his bowl, unable to eat. "Riku?" Sora and Lea said simultaneously. Riku pushed himself up and stomped away. He grabbed a glass of water on the way out of the room.

In the hallway, Riku leaned up against the wall. He lifted the cup to his mouth, then almost dropped it because it was hurting him so much to swallow it. He stifled a sob and managed to slowly sit himself down up to the wall. _I need to go somewhere..._ he thought and portalled out.

Mickey sighed. "Oh no..." "Whats wrong, your majesty?" Sora asked. "Ah... I don't know that Riku's doin' too well..." "What do you mean?" asked Sora. "Ya see... he wasn't doing very well the other evening, and I think I know why. I hope he's better now, though..."

A/N Sorry it took so long to get this out! Please review!


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, guys! I know you waited a while for this. I'm so sorry!**

 **Also, my name has been changed to Blazing Steel Eri**

The Destiny Islands had always been a peaceful place, and Riku sat on the beach, staring out at the water.

"Y'know," a familiar voice said, "it wasn't your fault."

"Lea," Riku said, and turned to face the red head.

He shook his head, then. "You can't say that. You weren't there. You don't know that she doesn't blame me. You... You don't know the things that _I_ did. I ruined everything. I was the one who destroyed the Destiny Islands in the first place because I was weak and selfish.

"I let down Sora and Kairi, and .. and I can't help but wonder how differently everything would have gone if I'd just.. If I'd done it the right way. I messed it up, and now they have to suffer because of me.

"And Aqua.. If I hadn't made the decision to give into the darkness that day, then.. She would've made it out with Mickey. Or.. Or I could've stayed behind and taken her place. It wasn't fair, and it's all my fault.

"Can you honestly say that Sora and Kairi don't blame me for what happened that day?"

Lea sighed and looked up at the sky, which was vibrant with the colors of daybreak.

"Do you... see the sky? It's pretty gorgeous. And every time.. that I look up at it, do you know what? I stop and think.. about Roxas. And I wonder if Roxas blames me. Or I remember an old friend, and I can't help but ask myself if it was my fault that we ended up this way. But that's not right. If it is my fault, then I should be dealing with it. But Roxas... It was his decision to do what he did. And I can't carry the responsibility for the actions that weren't mine. It was the decision that he was happy to make, and all I can do is support him in that. And he thankful for the time that we did have.

"Besides, if you hadn't done what you did, then I wouldn't have had any time at all with Roxas. We both owe you everything. And in past, I blamed you for taking Roxas away. But you hadn't. And I'm confident.. That one day, Roxas and I will meet again.

We can't move on and look ahead, if we're so focused on the mistakes of the past. There was no way that she blames you. Or that they blame you. So just... Look ahead. Move on. And when you go save Aqua, you can tell her that you're sorry so she can tell you what a nitwit you're being for even thinking that. Got it memorized?"

Riku smiled. "Yeah.. Lea. Thanks."

XdxdxdxdxdxdxdxdxdX

Aqua sat on the Destiny Islands. "How... did you all get here.. in the realm of darkness?"

Sora shook his head. "No, this is the Realm of Light! You're home."

Aqua choked on her breath as tears welled up in her eyes. "I... I'm home.. "

Mickey smiled and nodded.

Donald and Goofy tackled her in a hug, which Sora and Mickey happily joined in on.

Riku walked closer, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you," she smiled.

Riku smiled. "I couldn't have done it with them. "

 _My friends... are my power._


End file.
